1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a music storage apparatus that records music in a hard disk or in another recording medium, and to a picture storage apparatus that records a picture in a hard disk or in another recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, hard disks have experienced significant increases in speed and capacity and decreases in cost, and are used not only for data storage apparatuses in personal computers, but also for other applications. For example, while map data are generally stored in a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM in conventional car navigation systems, navigation systems in which map data are stored in a hard disk have recently been put into practical use.
In this type of navigation system, a hard disk has sufficient free space other than a storage space for map data. Therefore, the navigation system also functions as a music storage apparatus in which a musical piece or a radio program that the user is listening to is automatically recorded (downloaded) in the free space.
Hereinafter, music data for one musical piece recorded in the music storage apparatus will be referred to as a “music file”. A music file recorded in the music storage apparatus is read from the hard disk, and is converted into analog audio signals to be played back.
However, the above-described conventional storage apparatuses have the following problems. In the conventional music storage apparatuses, in a case in which playback of a musical piece recorded in, for example, a CD is stopped halfway by the user, portions of the musical piece which have been already played back are recorded as a music file in the hard disk. For this reason, when music files recorded in the hard disk are played back, in some cases the playback of a certain musical piece is broken off, and the playback of a succeeding musical piece is then started. This decreases the ease of use. Moreover, since such a partial music file is rarely used, the storage capacity of the hard disk is wasted.
While musical pieces recorded in a CD can be selected one by one to be recorded as a music file in the above navigation systems, it is troublesome for the user to select desired musical pieces one by one.
Furthermore, picture storage apparatuses have been under development in which a hard disk is incorporated in a video device, such as a television, and a program the user is viewing is automatically recorded in the hard disk. Such picture storage apparatuses may also cause problems similar to those in the above-described music storage apparatuses.